UCL - Supply Chain Coordination and Sourcing

[LSMS2035]

[30h] 5 credits

Teacher(s): Per Joakim Agrell

Language: English

Level: Second

Aims
Main themes
Content and teaching methods
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Aims

At the end of the class, students should be able to
- Identify, formulate, solve and critically review coordination problems in the supply chain.
- Model, resolve and interpret models to predict, recommend and implement supply chain solutions
- Distinguish and classify supplier relationships with respect to product, process and market properties.

Main themes

The course provides an indepth treatment of the relationships between independent firms in a supply chain through the analysis of their behavior, contractual frame, product, process and market choices. The first part of the course aims at understanding and modelling the strategic behavior between firms using the tools of LSM2031 and game theory in order to understand how to design the features and parameters of supply chain information. The second part looks at supplier relationsships from a strategic perspective, interfacing with procurement, production planning and product innovation, to understand the scope and limits of the previously defined tools in contexts such as e.g. armslength, partnerships and supplier pools. Strategic sourcing is a collaborative and systematic approach to reduce external spending, while improving quality, internal processes and total cost of ownership or usage.

Content and teaching methods

The class mixes interactive seminars on the topics with case studies and corporate site visits to provide students with a feeling for the relevance and context of the subject matter. The first part is illustrated with several roleplaying exercises to visualize and experience the topics. The second part includes a real-life case study that permits hands-on experience in the sourcing field.

Content
UNDERSTANDING STRATEGIC BEHAVIOR IN SUPPLY CHAINS.
Equilibria in Games.
Dynamic Games
Cooperative Games
Signalling, Screening and Bayesian Games

COORDINATION THROUGH NETWORK DESIGN
Channel Conflicts.
Intermediated Chain Design
Distribution Strategies
Supply Chain Structure on the Internet
Models I, T, D

COORDINATION THROUGH CONTRACTS.
B2B E-market places; supplier platforms
Combinatorial Auctions
Multi-unit Auctions
Procurement Reverse Auctions
Double Auctions and Exchanges

COORDINATION THROUGH COLLABORATIVE ACTION
CPFR Collaborative Forecasting and Supply Chain Performance
Inventory Models under CPFR
Joint Price and Inventory Decisions

STRATEGIC SOURCING
Procurement
Supplier Relationship Management
Collaborative Sourcing
Joint Development of Knowledge
Global Sourcing Impacts
Implementing Sourcing Management in Purchasing Organizations

REAL-LIFE CASE STUDY
Products, Process and Supply Chain
Procurement Process
Sourcing Process
Analysis

Methods
In-class activities
1 Interactive seminar
1 Project based learning
1 role playing/simulation

At home activities
1 Exercices to prepare the lecture
1 Paper work
1 Students presentation

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Other information

Prerequisites (ideally in terms of competencies)
LSM2030
LSM2031
LSM2032

Evaluation :
Case solutions including class presentations, class participation and an oral exam in English

Support
Excerpts from the references.

References :
Simchi-Levi, D, S. D. Wu, Z-J. Shen (2004) Handbook of Quantitative Supply Chain Analysis: Modeling in the E-business Era, Springer.
Axelsson, B., F. Rozemeijer, F. Wynstra (2005) Developing Sourcing Capabilities: From Insight to Strategic Change. John Wiley
Philippart, M. C. Verstraete, S. Wynen (2005) Collaborative Sourcing. UCL Press.

Internationalisation
1 international content (does the course tackle international issues related to the course content ?)
1 international guests
1 international case study

Corporate features
1 case study
1 company visit

Skills
1 presentation skills
1 team work
1 problem solving
1 decision making
1 critical thinking

Techniques and tools for teaching and learning
1 Internet work
1 modelling
1 quantitative methods
1 qualitative methods